Alison Holloway
“Sydney is driving the national economy – can it also drive national sustainable development?”

Sydney’s high level of population growth shows no sign of slowing, and that is a driver of economic activity. There is a strong relationship between city structure and economic performance, so significant shifts are needed to support the expected scale of activity and meet the economic, social and environmental challenges that growth presents. The talk will explore these challenges and the possible role of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in providing a framework for managing growth. Alison is an economic geographer who for more than 20 years has worked on metropolitan strategic land use, transport and infrastructure planning in Australia. She is CEO of SGS Economics and Planning.

Ivan Motley
“Enough of the baby boomers! Planning for schools.”

By 2026 there will be almost 700,000 more children in our schools. They are adapting their planning for the short- and medium-term future, following a recent boom in school-aged children. How do we make informed decisions about when and where to build educational facilities and adapt service to meet new patterns of demand? The talk provides insight into the value of forecasting for planning. Ivan is a geographer from Melbourne who has worked extensively as a researcher in State and local government. He founded .id (informed decisions) 21 years ago and helps clients make decisions by looking at cities from a demographic viewpoint.

Sue Weatherley
“How high growth challenges cities to create sustainable and resilient communities.”

Sue’s talk will focus on the impact of substantial growth on local communities, especially the challenges of transport and social infrastructure. She will consider how all spheres of government need to work together to meet these challenges and ensure that we create first-rate places and communities. Sue is a senior urban planner and local government executive whose work for over 20 years has been in NSW and Queensland. From 2008 to 2018 she was Director of Strategic Outcomes and Development at Parramatta City Council. She also chaired the Planning Task Force for the Committee for Sydney. She has twice received the Minister’s Award for women in local government.

William Hughes, the Planning Department’s Director, Economics and Land Use Forecasting, will join the speakers for discussion following their presentations. William was previously a senior economist in the mining industry and the Department of Mineral Resources.

This event is eligible for points/hours towards your required CPD